Rideshare trips for companies such as Uber are up sharply compared to taxi rides in Cagary. Jim Wells Photo illustration/Postmedia

Ride-share companies such as Uber registered four million trips in Calgary last year, nearly doubling the volume from the industry’s first full year of operation, according to numbers provided by the city.

At the same time, Calgary’s taxi industry faced a sharp decline in ridership for the fourth straight year, with the six million trips in 2018 marking a drop of some one million metered rides since the city gave the green light to Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) to operate at the end of 2016.

Michael van Hemmen, Uber’s business manager for Western Canada, said the booming numbers speak to the fact that Calgarians have been hungry for transportation options and aren’t afraid to speak with their wallets.

“We’re very happy with the growth we’ve seen in Calgary. We believe it’s an indication that Calgarians want ride sharing to be a part of their daily lives,” he said.

“We’ve seen that ride sharing and taxis can coexist.”

Numbers provided by the city’s Livery Transport Services show ride volumes for companies such as Uber jumped from 2.28 million trips in 2017 to just a shade over four million trips last year.

Meanwhile, taxi companies, which long held the monopoly over Calgary’s private transportation market before the city approved bylaws allowing for TNCs, have watched their numbers ebb over the past four years from just under 7.5 million trips in 2015 to just over six million last year.

But some question the numbers provided by ride-share companies, noting they don’t have the same level of scrutiny faced by the taxi industry, which is required to provide real-time trip data electronically to the city.

“I think those numbers are creative accounting,” said Jeff Garland, vice-president of operations for Associated Cabs. Ltd., noting the data provided by TNCs is still manual, though the city is endeavouring to automate the process.

“You’re going to tell me trip volume has actually gone up right in the middle of a bad economy?”

With trips between taxis and ride-share outfits combined, city data suggest some 10 million trips were taken between the two last year, an increase of roughly three million trips annually since TNCs were approved.

According to the city, there are currently 3,622 active ride-share licences in Calgary compared with some 2,000 taxi licences.

Garland, who has been in the taxi business for 38 years, noted the investment and hurdles required by cabbies compared to TNC drivers in Calgary is significant and unfair, and he’s hoping decision-makers will look to level the playing field.

“We really need to cap the number of TNCs so the taxi industry has a fair chance,” he said.

“How can the taxi industry survive if they’re basically handcuffed. It’s like being in a fist fight with both arms duct-taped behind your back.

“It’s unfortunate to see what they’ve done.”

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Coun. Evan Woolley, who was one of council’s biggest champions to adopt ride-share services, said despite some who doubt the numbers, he believes the growth is reflective of a shifting demographic among users of public transportation.

“People just quit taking taxi cabs — when you can’t get a mode of transportation you need, you eventually just give up,” Woolley said of a common refrain voiced by Calgarians before the city allowed TNCs.

“I think what we’re seeing is there was a massive pent-up demand. There is a rebalancing that’s happened — Uber has been eating into that bigger market, which is millennials.”

Woolley noted the massive boost in numbers shouldn’t come as a surprise given the success experienced by Car2Go and more recently Lime Bike, which greatly surpassed initial expectations.

The inner-city councillor noted healthy competition can only make the industry better, which will ultimately benefit consumers.

It’s that improved marketplace, said Uber’s van Hemmen, that likely saw public transportation concerns lodged in 2018 experience a significant drop to 934, compared with 1,051 the previous year.

“When people have more choices, everybody steps up their game,” he said.

Van Hemmen, who wouldn’t say how many licensed Uber drivers are currently operating in Calgary, said given the success of the first two years, the San Francisco-based company will expand its footprint in the city.

“Our expectation is the numbers will continue to grow,” he said.

“Right now we’re very happy with our Calgary business and we’ll be continuing to make investments.”

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